It’s been one of those weeks where I went down a rabbit hole of albums or songs leading to other albums and songs. Documenting it just so I can come back to it if I want to.
Cannons – Heartbeat Highway
I really love this band. I don’t quite ever know how to classify them which is part of the reason I like them so much. There’s a lot of influences from The Cure to shoegaze to Italo Disco to dub. The latest record has that major label sound to it, maybe a bit too Taylor Swift over-produced to perfection but the band still shines through it which is a testament I think to how original they sound even with the backing of big dollar studio work. I prefer Fever Dream the record before more, but there are some go-to’s on this album I like singing in the car, the one above being one of them.
Which leads me to
The Primitives – Crash
My brother has this album when I was growing up. I think I only discovered it during that musical discovery point where I’d consume anything of his I found. They’re like a pop version of the heavier hitters (Jesus & Mary Chain obviously come to mind). Alvvays would come along later and perfect the sound (imo). Speaking of.
TALsounds
TALsounds player her album release the night I was playing in Baltimore so I wasn’t able to attend and pick the album up. I finally got a chance to put it on this week while I was working and I literally felt like I was levitating off my chair from the beautiful atmospheres Natalie crafts on her latest album. Shift both sounds like TALsounds prior works but elevated in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. The synth sounds are steeped in FM plucks and washes, reverb and delays go from being gently used to pushed to their limits making you wonder if your headphones are dying out or if it’s the recording. Slides is my favorite song so far, but every time I put this on I get excited about the audible journey I’m about to embark on. A 10/10 highlight record for me of the year.
The Verve – Live at Wigan
I have come back to this one all year. I always loved The Verve, the early shoegaze records were major influences on me (the case for using delays and not just reverbs on your pedal board for example). But, Urban Hymns was also that album that came out at that pivotal senior year of high school going into college period for me. And, that was a really really really lonely time for me. All my friends went to the University and I went to a community college for a number of reasons, none of which are happy to look back on. Slowdive’s Souvlaki and Urban Hymns got me through it, Ashcroft’s lyrics helped put some perspective on things.
This is The Verve at their finest, in their home town, playing to 33,000 people. It makes sense Blur, Oasis, Radiohead all got huge, The Verve are the better band though, Richard has this ability to connect on a much deeper human level than those other bands. I only recently learned John Martyn, Beck, and DJ Shadow played this gig and the gig cost 21 pounds at the time to attend. Unbelievable. Marvel at Nick’s guitar playing on here, the incredible bass lines, and Ashcroft commanding the town.
Aphrodite’s Child – 666
This is sort of an easy one, a direct jump from The Verve (they loved this band and specifically this song). Also Deltron 3030 sampled from this record, it’s a classic but I always seem to forget I know it so I was thankful for the reminder this week to pull it up.
Blake Baxter – Dream Sequence
On the techno front, I ended up listening to the first Jeff Mills Underground Resistance album which lead me to the other first UR release artist Blake Baxter. Early minimal heavy 909 driving stuff. I got into electronic music in the early 90’s but through stuff like the Cool World soundtrack and the 808 State tape my brother had. It took me a while to discover the deep history and there is always ALWAYS more to discover but that is the fun of it all right?